Signaling Device For Displaying Warning And/Or Informational Alerts In Vehicles

• US 20070210906A1
• Filed: 02/25/2005
• Published: 09/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Knoll, Peter, Arnon, Marc, Koehl, Hannelore
• Application Number:
  US11/547,771
• Publication Number:
  US 20070210906A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/461
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 17/10036 comprising two outer glass sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 17/10541 comprising a light source or a light guide
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/338 Light strips
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/785 on or in relation to the windshield or windows
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/60 Instruments characterised by their location or relative disposition in or on vehicles arrangements of lighting devices on dashboards B60Q3/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0103 comprising holographic elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/00 Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 21/04 by land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 21/049 giving information to passengers inside the vehicles

Abstract

A signaling device for displaying and/or issuing warning and/or informational alerts in vehicles via visual and/or acoustic signal sources is described, direction-related information being supplied to the driver based on an available signal, e.g., from a collision avoidance system, and this information relates to an event associated with a specific object regarding which the warning is to be issued.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A signaling device for displaying at least one of warning and an informational alert in vehicles, comprising:

visual display elements located within a visible area of a windshield,

wherein a plurality of the visual display elements are distributed across a significant part of the windshield, and are selectively renderable to be visible to display at least one of the warning and an informational alert.

17. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein a channel-shaped optical waveguide is assigned to the visual display elements to supply light.

18. The signaling device of claim 17, wherein the optical waveguide is provided as a separate optical waveguide at least one of on and in the windshield.

19. The signaling device of claim 17, wherein the optical waveguide is provided via a structuring of the windshield.

20. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein at least one of the visual display elements is arranged as a structure which is invisible when in a deactivated state.

21. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein a light source supplies light to at least one of the visual display elements to render it visible.

22. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein at least one of the visual display elements includes a hologram.

23. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein at least one of the visual display elements includes an activatable light-emitting element.

24. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein at least one of the visual display elements includes a transparent organic light-emitting device (TOLED).

25. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein at least one of the visual display elements includes an electroluminescent display (ELD).

26. The signaling device of claim 16, wherein rendering of the at least one of the warning and the informational alert is coupled with at least another of acoustic warning and informational alert.

27. A signaling device for issuing at least one of a warning and an informational alert in a vehicle having at least one acoustic signal source, comprising:

an alerting arrangement for providing the at least one of the warning and the informational alert via the signal source so that the alerting contains information regarding a direction associated with an object detected using a detection arrangement for surveying an area surrounding the vehicle, regarding which the alerting arrangement provides the at least one of the warning and the information alert.

28. The signaling device of claim 27, wherein the information regarding the direction in which the object lies is provided by selectively issuing an acoustic signal from at least one of a plurality of signal sources spatially distributed in the vehicle.

29. The signaling device of claim 27, wherein the information regarding the direction in which the object lies is provided by issuing a voice message from the at least one signal source.

30. The signaling device of claim 27, wherein the at least one of the warning and the informational alert contains distance information regarding the object regarding which the warning is provided.